Precognition and Evidence

For this week’s NeuroThursday, I tackle the recent scientific evidence for psychic powers – and why it’s unconvincing despite getting published in a major peer-reviewed scientific journal.

The Arm’s Complexity

For the tenth NeuroThursday, I explain why our arms are so much more complex than the movements they have to perform. With bonus Soviet Science Photos!

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Reprint publication – Sweeter than Lead

My neo-Lovecraftian short story, “Sweeter than Lead,” is now up at Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores!

Subscription required, but it’s only a few dollars a year – and all the stories there (mine included) come with original artwork! Money well spent, with the articles and stories that come out every week.

If you want to read more about the story, check out the notes that accompanied its original publication at PodCastle.

Maps in the Brain

Time for another week of ! Maps in the brain, and how they lead us to the conclusion “the brain is enslaved to the body.”

Nebula Neuroscience

I’m thrilled to announce that I’m going to have a speaking slot at the SFWA Nebula Conference in June!  My talk “Understanding Neuroscience: The Evolved Brain” will take place on Sunday at 10am for anyone with enough fortitude to shake off their hangover and come here me talk about neuroscience, and how we can improve our understanding and portrayal of the human brain in fiction.

I haven’t yet developed the talk, so if you have any questions or issues too complex for , let me know! Or ask me over a beer1 afterward.

I hope to see some of you there! I’ll only be at the Nebula conference Sat-Sun (arriving late Friday night) due to the travails of work, but so it goes.

Hand Dominance

This week’s NeuroThursday neuroscience explainer: Hand Dominance! Just how dominant is it, anyways? (Less than you think.)

Brain Variability

For NeuroThursday this week I fulfilled a promise from last time: explaining the variability of the brain, and what it means for a single neuron to have countless functions!

Event Horizon 2017 Anthology

The Event Horizon anthology has come out today, and is free for all to download until July 15!

This is the latest in a long line of Campbellian Anthologies, containing the works of over 75 people eligible for this year’s John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. Everyone in here published their first professional piece of science fiction or fantasy in 2015 or 2016. I’m eligible myself, so you’ll find one of my stories in the anthology – though if you follow my blog, you’ve probably read the story already!

The award is selected by members of this year’s World Science Fiction Convention, with the finalists decided this week, and the winners in a few months. But anyone can read and enjoy nearly 400,000 words by this year’s most promising new writers!

Mirror Neurons

This week’s NeuroThursday goes into one of my personal favorite (hated?) hobgoblins of well-popularized neuroscience: mirror neurons. What are they, what’s the myth, and what’s the controversy?

Left/Right Brained

NeuroThursday rides again with the most pervasive myth of brain lateralization: can you be a “left brained” or “right brained” person?